Process of treating heavy hydrocarbon oils.



0. J. GREENSTREET. PROCESS OF TREATING HEAVY HYDROGARBON OILS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 13,1912.

1,1 1 11,924. Patented Sept. 15, 1914. 1

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CHARLES Jfennnnsrnnnr, or WEBSTER enovns, mrssoom.

rnocnss or TREATING FHEAVYQHYDROCARBON oI'Ls.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 1c, 1912.

Patented Sept. 15, lore; Serial no. 696,891.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES 'J. GREEN- s'rnnn'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Webster Groves, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Process of Treating Heavy Hydrocarbon Oils, of which the .following is a specification.

The principal object of my invention is to convert heavy hydrocarbon oils, especially crude oil, into lighter hydrocarbon by a rapid and continuous process.

My invention consists principally in maintaining a long continuous coil at a high temperature and forcing .commingled oil and steam through said coil under pressure.

The accompanying drawing, which forms part of this application, and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, is a general "view of an apparatus suitable for practising my invention. No claim is made herein to such apparatus, as the same forms the subject-matter of my copending application for patent therefor, Serial Number 690,483 filed April 13, 1912. I also refer to other pending applications related to the subject-matter hereof, namely, Serial N umber 614,125 filed March 13, 1911; Serial Number 702,176 filed June 7,1912 and Serial Number 757,789 filed March 31, 1913.

My apparatus comprises a furnace 1 in which delineated along continuous coil of iron'pipe 2. This pipe is of uniform diameter and free'from abrupt'angles, and the interior thereof is free from obstructions and abrupt changes of surface. The upper end of this coil is connected by a pipe 3, atomizer 4, pipe 5 and branch v 4 pes 6' and 7 to oil feed tanks 8 and 9. ach of the branch pipes 6 and 7 contains cut ofi' valves 10 and 11 whereby either or both offthe' tanks maybe placed in communicationwith the heating coil 2, as desired. The feed tanks Sand 9 are likewise connected about midway of their height by, valved branch 1 with anoilsupply tank 17 I I steam pipe 18 leading from a boiler or pipes 12 and 13 with apipe 14 which communicates with the delivery side of' the;

pump 15 and the inlet side'of said pump 15 communicates through a source of steiim hasbranch pipes 1 9 and leadingto'the respective oil supply tanks 8.

this oil tank 29, in turn, communicates valved pipe" 1 6 and 9, each of said pipes containing a control valve 21, 22; said supply tanks 8 and 9 are likewise provided with suitable pressure gages 23 and 24. Another branch leads from the steam pipe 18 and opens into the atomizer 4, whence it communicates through the pipe 3 with theheating coil 2; and this pipe 25 is likewise provided with a pressure gage 25. Another branch pipe 26 leads from the steam pipe into a suitable oil burner 27, which burner affords suitable means of heating the furnace. This oil burner is supplied with oil through a pipe 28 which communicates with an oil tank 29,

through a valved pipe 30 with a pipe 31 which communicates with the outlet pipe 14 of the pump 15 at a point between the pump and a valve 32 in said outlet pipe.

The outlet end of the heating coil 2 communicates through apipe 33 with a condenser tank 34 about midway of the height thereof; and this condenser tank 34 communicates with a second condenser tank 35 through a pipe 36 extending from the top of the condenser tank 34 and opening, into said tank 35 about midway of the height thereof. Likewise'the tank 35 communicates with a third tank 37 and the third tank 37 with a fourth tank 38 and the fourth tank with a fifth tank 39, each tank in turn being connected to the next by the pipe 36 arranged as hereinbefore described.

The endmost tank 39 has a pipe 40 extending from the top thereof and communicating with a condensing coil 41 and said coil, in turn, communicates with the top of the tank 43 by means of a connecting pipe 42. This tank 43 is hereafter referred to as the gasolene separation tank.

' The bottom of the gasolene tank 43 is provided with a valved pipe 44 which opens mto the top of a tank 45 located immediately below the gasolene tank and hereinafter designated as a still tank; and the bottom of this still tank in turn connects through a valved. ipe46 with the top of, a tank 47, hereina ter referred to as the collection tank.- Apipe 48 for drawing off the waste water connects through valved bran'ches 49, 59-and 51 with the bottoms of the gasolcne separation tank, still tank and collection t ank, preferably, thr'oughthe pipes 44 and 43 hereinbefore mentioned.

able trap 54 in the delivery pipe '10 heavy oil and is hereinafter designated as the casing head gasolenetank. In practice, it is desirable toduplicate this casing head A gasolene tank as shown at 58, the communication between the twopipes being made by means of a pipe .59 which extends from the topof the first casing head gasolene tank tonear the bottom of the secondtank.

The still tank 45 has a valved steam pipe 60 opening into the lower portion thereof.

This steam pipe is connected to a pipe 61 which isa'branch of the main steam i e 18. The outlet pipe 52 of the still" tank has a branch pipe 62'which communicates with the top of the gasolene tank 43, this branch pipe '62 containing a valve 63. r

The collection tank 47 has an outlet pipe 64 extending from the top thereof to a reverse condenser 65 whose lower portion communicates with a tank 66. -The bottom of said tank 66 communicates through a branch pipe with a pipe 67 ,which pipe in turn communicates with the valved pi e 46, which opens into the top ofthe col ection tank. Opening into the lower" portion of said collection tank 47 is a pipe 68 whichhas valved branches extending upwardly into the bottom's ofthe several condenser tanks 34, 35, 37, 38 and 39. The bottom of the collection tank 47 is provided with a valved pipe 69 which communicates with the inlet side of thepum 15. I V

A tank 70, hereinafter referred to as the Y supplemental supply tank, has a valved pipe 171 which communicates with the upper part of the collection tank 47 through the pipes 67. and 46. It also hasa valved pipe 72 which communicates with an outlet pipe 73; and llkewis'e the still tank 45 has a valved pipe 74 which communicates with the same 50. outlet pipe 78. Extending from the *steam pipe 61 into the upper portion of the. supplemental'supply tank 70 is a valved branch pipe 75; and likewise a valved branch pipe I 7 6 extends from the branch outlet pipe 31 of '55 the pump and'opens into the upper portion of said supplemental supply tank. By this arrangement, the supplemental supply tank can be readily replenished from the source 0;E,O1 l supply. A branch steam pipe77 extendlng from the "pipe 61 extends down through the last condenser tank 39 nearly to the .bottom thereof and afiords a means of heating and. producing pressure on the contents'thereof when it isdesired to remove' the same from said tank. Preferably, the.

furnace and the pressure gages and also the pyrometers 7 8 are all separated by' a partition 79 from the other parts of the apparatus.

- The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The furnace is first heated by means of the crude oil supplied from the feed tank 29 to the burner 27, where it is atomized by steam injected through the branch' 'steam pipe 26. Meanwhile, steam from the branch .pipe 25 is being injected through the atomizer 4 and forced through the apparatus under pressure from the original source of steam. During this preliminary heating not only thetemperature of the coil is raised, but the temperature of the condensing tanks is'also raised. When the heating coil reaches a cherry red heat, one or'both of the valves in the branch steam pipes 19 and 20 are opened to produce .a pressure on the crude oil supply tanks 8 and 9. or one of them;-

and either or both of thevalves 10 and 11 in the outlet pipes of said tanks are opened gradually to permit the oil to, be forced therefrom into the atomizer. The oil thus atomized is forced under the pressure of the steam through a long heating coil 2, where .it is gradually transformed from heavier hydrocarbons into lighter fhydrocarbons. This transformation is provided for and facilitated by the high temperature, the* pressure inside of said coil, the continuous smoothness of the interior of the heating coil and the uniformity of its cross sectional area and by other factors incident to the apparatus. I

The transformation of the heavy hydrocarbon compounds into lighter hydrocarbon compounds absorbs a considerable quantity of heat, and care must be taken to keep the temperature of the coil high enough to maintain the continuity of the process. Although the whole coil may be a bright cherry red when the oil is first passed into it, the color of-the inlet portion of said coilsoon becomes dull on account of the rapid abs'orption of heat, even while the temperature of the furnace continues substantially uniform. Likewise, the transformation from a heavy hy-. drocarbon intoi lighter hydrocarbons impliesan increase in the number of molecules and, consequently, an increase in the pres-- s'ure within the heating coil-by reason of the uniform throughout its length." Consider able pressure is therefore re'quiredto force the I material through. the "heating coil' rapidly. 7 This pressure will increase. as the length of the 0011 increases and asits bore or internal diameter decreases. Satisfactory fact that'the diameter of the heating coil is fresults are obtained when Elie heatingcoil is acon'tin'uous pipe with an. nside diameter of about an inchiand on e half and of a length L pressure is one-hundred pounds per square inch, and the pressure on the oil in the feed tank is about fifty pounds per square inch, the temperature being cherry red as above stated. v p

It is to be noted that the temperature of the heating coil influences the products, but

that the products which result from the treatment of given crude oil at a given temperature are of a definite and uniform quality. For instance, certain definite anduniform products can be obtained from a given crude oil by treating'the'same at a red heat; whereas certain other" products also of a definite and uniform quality will be obtained by treating another portion of the same crude oil at a bright cherry heat. The temperature may be varied therefor to suit the requirements of the desired product. The product resulting from the foregoing treatment is a mixture consisting principally of paraflins and olefins, the amount of olefins varying from a small percentage in the lighter gasolenes and naphthas to as high as forty per cent. or more in the heavier oils. The product is free from grease and is therefore suitable for cleansing purposes and for use in internal combustion motors, as well as for all of the purposes for which ordinary gasolene and naphtha are used. On account of its large content of olefin, the gasolene produced by my process has a higher heating efliciency than gasolene produced by the processes commonly practised.

As a matter of economy, it is desirable to limit the quantity of steam or water used in the process; andfor determining the proper quantity of water and steam, a test burner 80 is used. This test'burneris connected by a pipe 81 to the delivery pipe 33 of the heating coil 2. Initially steam alone will issue from the test burner; but when the crude oil is admitted in gradually increasing quantity, the vapor resulting therefrom will issue along with the steam through the test burner. So long as the steam is largely in excess, the vapor issuing from the test burner will not burn with a steady flame; and consequently, the'oil should be admitted in larger proportion to the atomizer until the vapor issuing from the test burner burns with a continuous flame. The test burner should be of the Bunsen type so as to insure a thorough commingling of air with the vapor before ignition. The proportion of oil can be increased until the test flame shows a tendency to areddish or yellowish color, which color indicates a destruction of a portion of the oil. When this color indication appears, the proportion of oil should be slightly-decreased until the test flame becomes bluish.

From the heating coil, the product passes into the first condensing tank, where the more easily condensable portion of the rodnot is condensed. The remainder o the product passes into the next tank where the.

more easily condensable portion thereof is condensed, and so on from tank to tank. As

denses in a given tankin the early period of the operation will distil over to the next tank at a later period of the operation. It is desirable to continue the operation until the temperature of the last condensing tank is slightly in excess of the boiling point of 7 water.

From the last condensing tank, the product passes through the condensing coil A1, which is preferably cooled by water or other artificial means; so that the resulting product which enters the gasolene tank is mostly asolene and water. The water being heav- 1er than the oil is drawn out from time to time from the bottom of the gasolene tank 43 through the waste pipe 49; and the gasolene is then passed through the pipe 44 into a still tank 45, whereupon the connection between the gasolene tank and still tank is cut off. Live steam is then injected through the branch pipe 60 into the still tank with the result of vaporizin the lighter portion of the contents of the still tank, which lighter portion passes out through the ipe 52 into the condensing coil 53. From tie condensing coil the gasolene passes to the delivery pipe 55; but the lightest portion ofthe gaso lens is trapped and escapes through the bypass 56 into the casing head gasolene tank 57 where it is absorbed by the heavy oil provided for the purpose in said tank. After this distillation the operation is continuedv returned when desired to'the collection tank.

When desired, the communication between the supplemental supply tank and the collcction tank 'is opened to allow crude oil to be forced into the collection tank, the collection tankthu's receives a portion of the product condensed in the condensing tanks as wcllas the residue of the still tank and a portion .of crude oil. The collection tank is placed in communication with the supply pipe of the pump either alone or simultaneously with the main-supply tank, as desired; so that the contents of said collection tank are passed through the apparatus in the same way as the original supply ofcrude oil.

5 of the smoothness of this coating, it is believed to contribute to the value of the process in increasing thev velocity ofthe contents and by not afferding any point where adeposit of carbon may be made. "When the process is properly-carried Out, there is practically no formation of permanent gas and no deposit of free carbon; and as the condensable vapors condense. in the condensing tanks, the last ofwhich has a vent'to permit the escape of the air initially contained therein, the pressure in the condensing tanks decreases from tank to tank until it is about h m s tha ofe urr un i g at mosphere'. v

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The improvement in the process of,

' treating crude oil which consists in passing steam under pressure through a long COII'.

tinuous coil of pipe kept at a S lbStantially cherry temperature and injecting crude oil into said steam on the inlet side of'the coil, said coil being free from obstructions and abrupt angles.

2. The improvement treating crude oil Which consists in passing a continuous current of commingled steam and oil througha long continuous coil of pipe kept at a substantiallycherry red temperature, said current being unobstructed and moving at a velocity rapid enough to prevent a deposit of carbon or formation of permanent gas in appreciable quantity such as would result from the prolonged exposure of the oil at such temperature.

1 3; The process of treating crude oil which consists in forcing astream of commingled steam and 'oil through a long continuous coil'of pipkeptat a substantially cherry red temperature, the exposure of the oil being such as would result from the use of a coil of pipe one hundredT'feet long and an inch and a half diameter and free from 0bstructions, the pressure on the oil supply being fifty pounds per square inch, such oil being injected into the pipe coil under a steam pressure of one hundredgpounds per square inch. I

4. The process of treating crude oil which consiststin maintaining a lon coil of continuous pipe at a substantial y cherry red temperature, passing steam through said coil n a continuous and unobstructed stream,

' injecting oilrinto the stream 'on the inlet yoncl: theoutlet end of said .0011, the expo? l'srire' -ofjthe oil being such as wouldresult f rnm .a liveg'steam pressure of ome hundred r nd ne f s a i n h. and a pres ur n side of aid coil and condensingthe oil ha in the process of y the oil supplyjo'f fifty pounds per square inch when the coil is a pipe of one and one half inches in diameter and one hundred feet long.

5 The process of treating heavy hydrocarbon oil which consists in maintaining a longcoil of continuous pipe at a substantially cherry red temperature, passing steam through said coil in a continuous and unobstructed stream, injecting oil into the steam on the inlet side of said coil and condensing the oil beyond the outlet end of said coil, the exposure of the oilbeing such as would result from a live steam pressure of one hundred pounds per square inch and a pressure on the oil supply of fifty pounds per square inch when the coil is a pipe of one and one half inch diameter and one hundred feet long.

6. The process oftreating crude oil which consists in maintaining a long coil of uniform small diameter at a temperature suflicient to decompose the principal components of the crude oil, passing steam through said coil in a continuous unobstructed current, injecting oil into said steam on the inlet side of said coil and permitting the products tojcondense beyond the outlet end of said coil. I

consists in passing steam through along unobstructed pipe of small diameter and free from abrupt angles at a temperature sufiic'ient to transform some of the heavy hydrocarbon ingredients of crude oil into lighter liquid hydrocarbons and simultaneously in- 7. The process oftreating crude oil which jecting. crude oil into said steam on the inlet side of said coil, and permitting the product to condense,the pressure on the oil and thepressure of the steam at the point of admission to saidpipe-being suflicient to force the oil rapidly through the coil.

9. In-the art of treating crude hydrocarbon oil with steam at a temperature in excess of the distillation points of the heavy hydrocarbon components thereof, the method of determining the amount of the steam, which consists in Igniting a portion of the issuing vapor and ;i}1011' of oil until the test flame becomes yelgradu'ally changing the proporwish and then slightly decreasing the proe f ien .ofth o l-- 10. The process of treating crude oil Which portion of oil and then condensing the consists in passing a mixture of said oil and product.

10 steam through a heating coil at a furnace Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 11th temperature in excess of one thousand deday of May, 1912.

5 grees Fahrenheit; igniting a portion of the CHARLES J. GREEN STREET.

hot products, varying the proportion of oil Witnesses: and steam until the test flame becomes yel- ANDREW KEss'LING,

' lowish and then slightly decreasing the pro- ALBERT H. OROISSANT 

